2021-02-14
My (Twitter) reactions to the first episodes of the Winter 2021 anime season
As before I'm collecting here all of my tweeted reactions to the first episodes I've seen (in the order that I saw them). This entry is delayed for various reasons so I'm throwing in some bonus additional notes.
- Otherside Picnic episode #1: That was okay at what it did but as a
stand alone work I felt like it lacked some vital spark of engagement
amidst the frenzy of weirdness, action, and horror-ish mood. I'm not
unbiased though, since I've looked at the manga.
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- Laid-Back Camp S2 episode #1: What can I say? Seeing young Rin
was great (especially the failures (and learning) and then the curry
cup), and then we got all the current day stuff. The magic is 100%
back (or, if you prefer, continuing).
→
(As you would expect, Laid-Back Camp has continued to be excellent.)
- So I'm a Spider, So What? episode #1: I'm predisposed to like this
for various reasons, but it was still reasonably fun although limited
by all of the setup work it had to do. I hope it gets better in future
episodes once our spider gets to do more interesting and active things.
♯
- Horimiya episode #1: This was fun and charming and nicely done.
None of these people are your usual potatoes and I can believe what's
happening with them. I don't know where the show is going to mine
drama from, though, and if I'm going to be happy watching that happen.
→
(I only just got around to watching the second episode of this, so I don't know if I'm really going to stick with it.)
- Hortensia Saga episode #1 is unfortunately not interesting enough
for me to finish. It's a collection of cliches with one of the least
convincing 'girl cosplaying as a guy' cases I've seen. I can only
conclude that everyone on her side knows it.
→
- Kid from the Last Dungeon episode #1: That was decently funny,
although not very deep. One of the things that made it work is that some
but not all of the people around Lloyd knew how powerful he was, which
led to a certain amount of tension. But it's painting pretty broadly.
♯
(I would up abandoning this part way through episode 3.)
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime episode #25: Partly
re-introduction to things and partly a slow-moving setup episode,
although they did put in some show-off fights at the end. It's still
fun but I kind of wish it was more engaging right now.
♯
('I wish this was more engaging' is part of my reaction to a lot of this season of Slime so far.)
- Log Horizon S3 episode #1: My immediate reaction to this episode is
that I'm not a fan of either the focus on politics or the theme of
everything falling apart. Maybe there will be a triumphant ending to
the season but right now it doesn't feel like getting there will be fun.
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(Although I haven't dropped this officially, I haven't watched the second episode. It may turn out to be another Full Metal Panic.)
- Wonder Egg Priority episode #1: Oh wow, that was beautifully done.
Also periodically painful in a quiet way and sometimes brutal, mostly
in a 'the implied made real' kind of way. There were some very visceral
moments. (What concretely happened is basically beyond summary.)
♯
- Sk8 the Infinity episode #1: That was okay but not compelling,
especially in this busy season. I don't think the over the top nature
of some things clicked with me, but the characters and the core gimmick
of the episode were okay.
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(I didn't watch any more of this.)
In continuing shows, I'm still enjoying Jujutsu Kaisen.